DR. HOOK- Long walk: Men don stilettos to make a point

Men wearing women's clothing is always so funny. Why? When women dress in men's clothing, "It's so Annie Hall!" But when Willard Scott dresses like Carmen Miranda, we all go bananas. Look at Oscar winner Jamie Foxx! On In Living Color, he hilariously cross-dressed as the cross-eyed Wanda. (Maybe his crossed eyes somehow got him the role of a blind musician? Nah!)

Tough men Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes wore high heels and even higher hair-dos in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Now, as top heavy as these muscle-men were, I don't know how they didn't tip over I those shoes– timber!

Is wearing high heels that hard for men? Yes it is. And to prove the point, the Sexual Assault Resource Agency (SARA) is having a fund raiser, "Walk a mile in her shoes: The men's march to stop rape, sexual assault, and gender violence" at which local men pledge to stroll, wobble, glide, or otherwise make their way down Main Street wearing stiletto heels.

I'll be attending this affair, most likely to treat all the sprained ankles that will occur on the one-mile march. (More likely I'll have to give them pointers on how to walk in high heels because I've seen enough episodes of Project Runway and Sex in the City to open my own catwalk.)

Rape or sexual assault means any sexual act performed by one person on another person without consent. This occurs due to force, threat of force, or the victim's inability to give consent.

Okay, get this: a woman is raped every 90 seconds in the US; one-third of women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, and one-sixth of boys will be by the age of 18.

One in four college women is raped; the recent Seccuro-Beebe trial is a case in point. The fact it took over 20 years for that case to close shows how rarely sexual assault is reported. In fact, only about 10-15 percent of cases are reported to the police. About half the perpetrators are acquaintances of the rape victim/survivor.

With sexual assault being so prevalent and damaging so many people's lives, why isn't there more being done to stop it? In my humble opinion, we are too concerned with less important things. As I've written before, it's because the subject of sex screws things up. It's like, "Oh, my ears are burning! I'm melting!"

Often the victim is blamed for the sexual assault: "She should not have been dressed like that." "She was turning him on." "He was flirting with disaster." (Yes, men are sexually abused, too.)

But the fact remains: sex is about both parties willingly participating. Rape is not about free will participation. It's about violence and dominance by the violator. Now, most men wouldn't want to tango if their partners were uninterested, dragging their legs around the dance floor (look at Dancing with the Stars!). So why would someone want to engage in sex with a person who isn't thrilled about it?

As for children, they don't even know what the tango is about, so why would anyone want to dance with them– if you catch my drift. (Oh, Dateline NBC's continuing sting "To Catch a Predator" is more freaky than Joan Rivers getting her 99th face lift.)

If you or someone you know is sexually assaulted, go to the ER and request a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Evaluation). They have trained professionals to make things as fast and efficient as possible for the survivor. Evidence will be collected, and pregnancy and disease prevention counseling will be provided. Also resources for psychological injuries are available. Any physical injuries will be treated in the ER.

RuPaul said, "You'd better work"– in his stiletto heels. I know that our society has a long way to go to stop the violence and start the healing.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes happens April 29 at 1pm at the downtown Free Speech Wall by the pavilion. The 24-hour hotline for SARA is 434-977-7273.